Lead in the Moment

Take Charge of Play Nice?

Once in awhile, I catch myself checking out the shows on television that my 4 year old might be watching at the time. While I believe a little bit of SpongeBob’s optimism isn’t a bad thing, most of the time I find these shows mind numbing. That is, until I started paying attention to see what leadership messages might exist in shows that cater to our children. I was surprised by what I…

Don’t Give Up

Don’t give up – Such easy words to say, not so easy to believe. At one time or another in our lives, these very words have been spoken to us. And honestly, it is not always easy to believe when things may not go as planned.

Many times we will tell our children the same thing; that anything is possible with hard work and perseverance, and we hope they believe us. Unlike adults, young children…

Maybe the title is a little corny?  Yes, I write stories about Ricky the Pirate Dog, but please pardon the analogy! I was thinking about leadership the other day and how it could be related to steering a ship, driving a car, etc. When the waters are calm, or the weather is good, we tend to lead on autopilot – we know what to do and implement it somewhat effortlessly. When the seas are rough or…

Who is the Leader?

I always find it interesting to look at a group of children and watch how they interact when given a task to do.  Many times we do not see how leadership takes on many roles in a group like this.  People typically see the gregarious child and automatically label them as the leader.  What many do not realize is that there are many facets to leadership; a leader is not just the most charismatic…

Two simple words to say, but not always something so simple to do. My 4 year old has been known to blurt this out after he has done something wrong and knows he is in trouble. Like if he just says this, it will automatically make his poor choice go away and instantly I will be happy!

Throughout our leadership journey, how many times have we said to a peer or team member something along these…

Another insightful look at leadership from my guest blogger, EJ Widun! You Can Learn From Your Dog

Another insightful look at leadership from my guest blogger, EJ Widun!

It is often said that a dog is man’s best friend. I believe it is true. Those of us who have pets forge an incredibly special and powerful bond.

Think about it…what’s not to love.

A pet gives you unconditional love.

A pet doesn’t care what went wrong or right, your pet loves you no matter what.

A pet will listen when you just…

As the saying goes, I get by with a little help from my friends…..or my husband!  Insightful thoughts on needs vs. wants by EJ Widun.

While you are at work, do you try to give people what they want? If you are, you are probably not meeting their needs to the max. People will often struggle to verbalize what they actually need. They will explain what they are looking for or what they may want, but…

I would like to share this post from a guest blogger, EJ Widun.  Besides sharing my passion for Servant Leadership and customer service, he is also my better half!

On a recent family vacation, we were commuting to Naples from Orlando. After an early start from Orlando, we decided to make a rest stop and get some food at a fast food restaurant off the highway. It was 10:20 AM. According to the…

Do people-pleasers make good leaders? Pleasing others can create a nice, happy environment, but in an organization, can being a people pleaser lead to big problems?

You know the old saying about not being able to please 100% of the people 100% of the time. If you have figured it out, please let me know your secret! When you are tasked with creating a positive work environment for numerous people,…

Cynical – Who Me?

What happens when you show appreciation by making a good will gesture to your team members and they dismiss it, or worse express their displeasure with your grand gesture? Do you go tell them to pound sand? Or do you just let it go and move on with your life, wondering why you even bother?

I personally experienced this a couple of times with a group of people I was supervising. I thought it would…

As I look to make changes to my current website, it has become an interesting exercise in identifying who I am and what do I want to accomplish?

So many times an organization will write a business plan based on a life-long dream, create all of their content, start to sell their product and then forget what motivated them in the first place. Or better yet, what happens when things change and the…

It is hard to escape all of the noise that exists around us. There is the noise you actually hear, such as barking dogs and loud children (something that is heard quite often in my home.) Or the noise you do not hear – all of the outside influences, such as social media, other people, or the many things that roll around inside your brain on a daily basis.

When we talk about a noisy world, I…

What are a few lessons in leadership that you would want to pass along to children?  Would any of these lessons made a difference in your life had you known about them at an early age?

Experts are all around us. There are those whose expertise we value and those we ignore. There are high-priced experts who can provide valuable information for an organization, versus those who believe their own level of expertise far exceeds what they really know.

How does someone gain expert status? Do we consider someone an expert when they have an education or extensive background? If someone…

A strange thought occurred to me the other day when I was preforming my annual after-Easter tradition of turning all of the Easter eggs into egg salad. As I was peeling and mashing up a dozen hard-boiled eggs, I noticed there were a few eggs where the coloring had gone through onto the egg white. This is nothing new, typically when small children color Easter eggs, the words “gently place the egg…